Angela Nations

What to Do and What to Expect When Hiring a Belly Dancer

Dance Area

Provide the dancer a clean, safe, and well-defined area in which to perform. If more than one dancer is performing, a raised stage or bigger dance area gives the audience a better view.

Dressing Area

A private and secure dressing area is required to change in and out of costumes and store belongings.

Stereo System

A quality stereo system with a CD player or ipod connection will enhance the music and performance significantly. Logistically, it is best if the stereo and speakers are in the same room as the performance.

Showing Appreciation

Clapping with the music, watching attentively and encouraging your guests to do the same will make the evening more memorable. If guests wish to tip the dancer, showering her with bills is infinitely more authentic and dignified than stuffing money into her costume.

Respect the Schedule

Be considerate of the dancers’ time, as they may have another engagement on the same night. The show should begin within 15 minutes of the originally scheduled time. Add $10 to the rate for every additional 15 minutes over the scheduled start time.

Enjoy the Show

Once the show begins, sit back, relax and enjoy! If it is appropriate and the dancer chooses to do so, she will select someone to dance with her. Please do not urge anyone to dance with her if they have not been invited. If the performance is in honor of a special person, point out the special guest to the dancer before the performance.

Family Friendly

Angela provides time-honored, family friendly entertainment.  Recommended occasions for hiring a dancer/dancers are dinner soirees, bridal showers, holiday, birthday and themed parties, nightclub and theater shows, weddings, Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, festivals, fundraisers and corporate events.  Angela does not perform at bachelor parties, or any other all-male attended event.

‘Qualify before you Buy!’

In Austin…and I’m sure it happens elsewhere too…I see girls take a handful of belly dance classes and then they start teaching classes and booking performance gigs. This can give the public a distorted view of what good belly dancing is, but could also make you look bad if you are the one who hired them.  You don’t want guests talking about how bad or inappropriate the belly dancer was.

There is also the matter of pricing. These ‘newbies’ may charge a lot less than a qualified, professional belly dancer (and some don’t, which is even more frightening), but as the old adage goes…’you get what you pay for’.

By qualifying the belly dancer you hire, you will benefit from a professional, qualified instructor and a quality performance that will ‘Wow’ your guests.

Angela Nations is a professional belly dancer who has been performing and teaching belly dance since 1998. She has a dance degree from Texas State University and performs and teaches classes/workshops throughout the country.

Book Angela for your next event.